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Kara Parker
Karalina Scarlet Lewis (née Parker; born April 29, 1995) is an American professional boxer. Parker rose to fame in the 2000s as a member of R&B girl group School Gyrls, one of the best-selling female groups of all time. From 2009-2017, she and her family have starred in the reality television series The First Family. In her international debut at the 2012 London Olympic Games as a 17-year-old, Parker was the first American woman to earn an Olympic gold medal in boxing. She is the first woman in any weight class to hold the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO titles simultaneously. In 2017, the Boxing Writers Association of America named Parker their inaugural Female Fighter of the Year. Guinness World Records awarded her with three recognitions in 2018: the Longest Reigning Female Boxing Champion, the Longest Reign as a Four-Belt Undisputed Boxing Champion, and the Most Bouts Undefeated by a Female World Champion Boxer. As of 2019, Parker is ranked as the world's best active welterweight, and fourth best pound-for-pound female fighter by BoxRec. Parker is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential female athletes ever. She is the only woman to headline a pay-per-view event for the HBO boxing matches. Parker was voted the best female athlete of all-time in a 2015 ESPN fan poll, and Fox Sports described her as "one of the defining athletes of the 21st century." Early Life and Education Born in Chicago, Illinois to Lena and Kevin Parker, Kara was raised with her with six siblings, Paul, Mariah, Jeff, Leilani, Kyra, and Kayla. Her father served 21 years in prison. Growing up, she was bullied and suffered peer abuse. She was subjected to jealousy by others as she came from a wealthy family that was well-known locally. Her siblings motivated her to step up for herself and become physically and mentally tough. She was a multi-sport athlete growing up and started boxing and karate classes at the age of seven. However, she did not begin amateur boxing until age 14 because her mother was unhappy about her entering such a dangerous profession. Her mother made her sign a contract that she had to straight A's if she wanted to box. At age 13, she moved to Washington D.C., to live in the White House with the Obamas when her mother became their personal chef. The Obamas added to the contract; she had to play two sports, and do at least three school clubs. She attended Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C from 2009 to 2013. She played outside hitter for the volleyball team and shooting guard for the baskeball team. Parker won four consecutive state titles in both sports and became the first female to win Gatorade Player of the Year in two different sports in Washington, D.C. history. Parker set the state record for kills (2,581) in volleyball and points (2,909) in basketball. She holds the national record in three categories: all-time consecutive free throws (92), career free-throw percentage (93.6%), and season free-throw percentage (95.4%). Parker was subsequently named the Associated Press Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Washington Post Girls Basketball Player of the Year, and Gatorade State Player of the Year. Parker graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in communications and she received a master's degree from Quinnipiac University in broadcast journalism. Amateur career After winning two Junior Olympic championships, Parker competed in her first open-division tournament, the National Police Athletic League Championships, in fall 2011; she won the middleweight title and was named top overall fighter, as well as qualifying for the U.S. Olympic trials. At the trials in February, she defeated the reigning national champion, Franchon Crews; the 2010 world champion, Andrecia Wasson; and Pittsburgh's Tika Hemingway to win the middleweight class. In April, she won her weight class at the Women's Elite Continental Championships in Cornwall, Ontario, against three-time defending world champion Mary Spencer of Canada; she held an undefeated record of 25 wins and 0 losses at that point. Following Parker's victory at the U.S. Olympic trials, it was initially reported that she would need only a top-8 finish at the 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Qinhuangdao, China, in order to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. On May 10, the day after the contest began but before Parker's first bout, a change to the rules was announced that meant Parker would need to place in the top two from the (North, Central, and South) American Boxing Confederation region of AIBA (AMBC). Parker won both rounds after Marshall advanced to the middleweight finals on May 18, it was announced that Parker had earned an Olympic berth. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she won the gold medal in the women's middleweight division after beating Russian boxer Nadezda Torlopova 19–12. Her amateur boxing record was 77 wins (60 by knockout). Professional career In September 2013, Parker signed a pro contract with World Champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., who announced his intention of making her the best Female Boxer of all time. She won her first match, against Franchon Crews, in two rounds. On February 15, 2014, she faced Szilvia Szabados for the North American Boxing Federation middleweight title, and won in three rounds. It was the first time a women's boxing bout was the main event on a United States premium network card. On August 16, 2014, Parker facing Sydney LeBlanc in her first scheduled eight-round bout. LeBlanc signed on with three days notice, after Mery Rancier dropped out due to visa issues. Parker won the fight after two rounds. On December 6, 2014, Parker defeated defending champ Nikki Adler in Detroit for the WBC super-middleweight belt and the vacant IBF super-middleweight belt. The fight was on Showtime. Eight months later, on August 15, 2015, in what was expected to be the hardest match of her career aganist against Cecilia Brækhus from the Colombia, while winning the WBO title. Parker won by a majority judges' decision in eight rounds. This match by Parker and Brækhus was the second main-event pay-per-view match between two women. Nevertheless, for the first time in Parker's boxing career, she suffered brutal beating, inflicted by Brækhus, something no other female boxer has done to Parker to this day. On November 30, 2015, Parker successfully defended her WBA, WBC and WBO titles against Mikaela Laurén from Sweden, while winning the World Professional Boxing Federation (WPBF) title. After Parker having dominated the whole match, she knocked Laurén out in the 7th round. The match was fought in Rostock, Germany. On September 14, 2016, after defeating Nicole Woods, Parker became the first American and the first woman to hold all major world championship belts in her weight division (welterweight) in boxing history. In 2016, she was voted the "Female Boxer of the Year" by German boxing magazine BoxSport. On March 18, 2017, Parker retained her WBC and IBF female super middleweight titles, and won the WBAN Super Middleweight title by defeating 17-0 Tori Nelson. During Round 1, Nelson experienced the first knock down of her professional career. On June 22, 2018, Parker defeated Hanna Gabriels in five rounds, winning the vacant World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation middleweight belts. On February 16, 2019, Parker became the undisputed women's middleweight world champion, unifying the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring women’s middleweight titles after defeating Christina Hammer in five rounds. Although this wasn't Parker's first big match, many journalists and fans attended, largely because she was fighting Claressa Shields. As WomenBoxing.com explains: "This is the biggest fight in female professional boxing than there had been since Laila Ali's pay-per-view fight with Jackie Frazier." Parker knocked out Shields – described by WomenBoxing.com as an "out-of-shape novice" – in the third round. Parker was scheduled to fight Ivana Habazin for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title in Flint, Michigan, on November 5, 2019. However, the fight was postponed due to Habazin's trainer being attacked at the weigh in. Media After being persuaded by sister Kayla, Parker joined her, and their older sister to complete the based R&B group, School Gyrls. The trio released the group's self-title studio album, which sold over ten million copies worldwide, 4.1 million of which were sold in the US alone. The album earned the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. In November 2009, School Gyrls reunited, joined by Sasha and Malia, released 8 Days of Christmas and'' New Life. The album hit number five on the ''Billboard 200, and spawned the singles "Damaged", "Miss Movin On", and "Sledgehammer".The group announced their disbandment, wanting to pursue their career goals. They were recognized as one of the best-selling female group of all time. Following School Gyrls's disbandment in early 2009, Parker made her television debut as a supporting actor in President's program The First Family. IMG talent agency and Excel Sports Management represent Parker. She uses the Wilson Hammer 6.4 Stretch Boxing gloves. Parker is endorsed by Audemars Piguet, Coca-Cola, Dunkin' Brands, Boston Markey, Air Jordan, State Farm, Samsung, and Beats by Dre headphones. Parker promotes health-conscious lifestyles and partnered with Williams Sonoma to campaign for No Kid Hungry. In 2014, she joined The Players' Tribune as a featured writer, having been immediately attracted to founder and former shortstop Derek Jeter's concept of allowing athletes to write and control their own content. In October 2015, Parker became the first female athlete to guest host ESPN's SportsCenter. Parker has been featured on the covers of Fitness, Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, TV Guide, Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, and Vogue. Parker was on the cover of the January 2016 issue for The Ring magazine. She became the first female boxer to ever appear on the cover of the boxing magazine and the second woman as well, after Cathy Davis in 1978. In February 2016, she was on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She has had a range of commercial partnerships. Activism As her career has progressed, Parker has become more involved in social change primarily using her platform as a medium of expressing her views. She posted her support of Black Lives Matter on her twitter page, voicing her concern about the men in her family being in danger from police officers due to his skin color. Parker has received several awards for her activism, particularly for her activism directed towards Black communities. She was listed among the 35 "most remarkable and beautiful black women" in the world by Essence magazine. The NAACP praised Kara for challenging stereotypical racial norms through her limitless efforts on and off the boxing ring by honoring her with the President's Award at the annual NAACP Image Awards. Philanthropy Parker is an active supporter of non-profit organizations, including After-School All-Stars, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Children's Defense Fund. She also has her own charity foundation, the Parker Family Foundation, which is based in D.C. Since 2013, the foundation has held an annual bike-a-thon to raise money for various causes. In 2015, Parker announced a partnership with colleges to provide scholarships for as many as 2,300 children beginning in 2017. In 2016, she donated $2.5 million to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to support an exhibit on Muhammad Ali. In 2017, she received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for her "outstanding service and dedication to the community." Public image Some commentators, players and sports writers regard Parker as the greatest female boxer player of all time. Her numerous victories on court have largely been a positive influence on young girls and boys who see Parker as a role model and an ambassador of females. She is hailed by many athletes, entertainers and sportscasters to be one of the best female athletes of all the time. Parker is frequently described as shy, soft-spoken, laid-back and relaxed. She has been a magazine cover model for FHM, Sports Illustrated, TV Guide and ESPN: The Magazine and ranked highly on beauty lists and in polls, about female athletes. People magazine named her one of the most beautiful people in the world in 2014. The following year, Patrker was voted the sexiest athlete in the FHMs "100 Sexiest Women 2015" list. FHM ranked her at No. 6 in 2011, No. 4 in 2012 and No. 4 in 2015. In April 2015, she became the first black female athlete to have a picture by herself on the cover of Vogue issue and in December, she was named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine. Parker has featured on sports power and popularity lists. Bloomberg Businessweek ranked her the 10th and 5th most powerful person in the world of sports in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014 and 2015. She has been highly ranked in the Davie-Brown Index for several years, and peaked at number one among female athletes in 2016. Parker was the Harris Poll's favorite female athlete in 2013; she placed second behind tennis player Serena Williams in 2014 and again from 2015 to 2017. She was 93rd on the magazine's The World's 100 Most Powerful Women list in 2018. Her endorsement deals generated a Q Score—the industry's measure of celebrities' likability—peak of 29 in 2018. For their first match of March 2019, the women of the United States women's national soccer team each wore a jersey with the name of a woman they were honoring on the back; Mallory Pugh chose the name of Kara Parker. Personal Life Parker married Carolina Panthers running back Ray Lewis on February 20, 2018. The two met at Sidwell Friends School. Additionally, she is a daughter-in-law of former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. She is also the second cousin with her husband's quarterback Cam Newton. Although her trainer rarely use it anymore, Parker was given the nickname "Baby Bear" by her boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. her speed, aggression, and youth. Parker is a Christian. “I'm a Christian athlete who has faith in Jesus Christ. So when I encounter circumstances over which I have no control, I believe and have peace.” Kara was the subject of an ESPN Sports Science video clip, discussing her vertical leap, court vision, and muscle memory. They discussed her ability to steal, noting that she can move her hands faster than the striking speed of a rattlesnake. Discography See also: School Gyrls discography Records Main article: List of career achievements by Kara Parker Filmography Professional boxing record See also * List of female boxers * List of female kickboxers * List of USOC Athlete of the Year award winners References External links P